


Lost in the Shadows

by tisfan



Series: Imagine Tony and Bucky 2016/2017 [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shadowrun, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Shadowrun Fusion, Blood Magic, Canon-Typical Violence, Cyberpunk, M/M, Magic and Science, bugs bugs bugs, canon-typical lack of respect for physics, tony speaks russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-08-22 23:51:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8305916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tisfan/pseuds/tisfan
Summary: In the year 2078, magic has returned to the world. Governments have collapsed and the world is ruled by the mega corporations. Mythological beings, elves, dragons, trolls, and native spirits have returned. Inside the Matrix, a vast, network of computers and AIs, a million times more powerful than the Internet, battles between mortal deckers and hostile ICE AIs rage. A shadowrun – a successful data theft or physical break-in at a rival corporation or organization – is one of the main tools employed by both corporate rivals and underworld figures.





	1. Lost in the Shadows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MissRomanceJunkie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissRomanceJunkie/gifts).



> This is a Shadowrun AU; Shadowrun is one of my personal favorite gaming systems, a cyberpunk world in which magic and tech complement and war upon each other, where no one is who they really seem, where shadowrunners engage in quasi-legal raids against corporations, and where you should never, ever make a deal with a dragon.
> 
> For this prompt:
> 
> non-powered au; rhodey's unit gets captured across enemy lines but the military won't fund rescue mission so Tony hires out a for-hire team of ex-soldiers (Steve, Bucky, Sam, etc) that specialize in security/rescue/recovery to help him save Rhodey. Bucky falls for the snarky, stubborn civilian doing whatever he can to get his friend back.

_Stark Industries Arcology, Seattle Freestate_

“Tony, no,” Pepper said, hands on her hips. “You most certainly cannot _go with them_.”

Tony didn’t look up from the building’s matrix, even if he didn’t need to be looking at it. Data streamed directly into his brain from JARVIS by way of the dataports just behind his ear. Renraku’s arcology blueprints were far from complete, although no one had ever penetrated as far as Coulson, and Tony spared a moment to flatten his lips, mourning the loss of his best decker. The black ICE, L.O.W.key, had taken Coulson out after Stark Industries had launched a counter-attack last quarter. They’d been successful, in the end, taking minimal casualties, but Coulson had been one of them.

“I’m sorry, Pepper, I must have heard you incorrectly,” Tony said, softly. “Are you telling me that the War Machine is a loss I should just accept?”

“No, Tony,” she sighed. “Just hire the ‘runners. Johnson them, if you don’t trust them, but please, I am asking you this time. Do not risk the Iron Man tech and, I might add, your genius brain, and go to war directly -- physically -- with Renraku yourself. Tony, if we lose you, we lose the corp. We all lose.”

“Pep, it has to be me. It’s personal,” Tony said. “Rhodey wouldn’t leave me there. Besides, I’m the best chance we’ve got to get the prototype back. You can Johnson, you’re so much better at it than I am.”

“That is because,” she said, “I have better negotiating skills. Against everyone but you.”

***

_Club Penumbra, Seattle Freestate_

Tony was late to the meet. He liked to pretend that was on purpose, but it wasn’t. The group of shadowrunners was assembled; most of them had worked together before, so when he entered the private room, he was treated to a series of glares from the others.

The leader of the street-team, a blond physical adept, street name; Captain America, glowered impressively. “Glad you could join us, _chummer_ ,” he said. “For the getaway driver, you don’t exactly inspire confidence.”

“Bad traffic,” Tony deadpanned, then took a seat. One of the hostesses brought him an elaborate bar concoction, and Tony used the opportunity of drinking it to look around at the ‘runners. He knew Hulk; a troll decker, probably Coulson’s equal, but he’d refused at least four offers of Tony’s to come work for Stark Industries directly. Had to be Hulk, there was no way Tony could trust another decker not to hack Tony’s own file and dish to the others on who street-named Iron Man really was.

On the Captain’s left was the legendary street-mage assassin, the Black Widow. She was all but asleep, leaning against the man on her left, but Tony wasn’t fooled. She was top-notch, trained by Hydra as a battle-mage. She was probably observing the group and the club in the astral plain, which meant if she was as good as her rep, she was looking at Tony’s astral mask right now. Wanda, one of his corporate mages, had anchored it to him earlier that night; the mask hid Tony’s enhancements, his rigger control wires, datajack, and internal skillsofts. If she was as professional as her rep, she wouldn’t try to shatter his mask. Rumor had it, she and her brother had been personally responsible for Hydra’s downfall, a few years back. That was a corp that Tony had been happy to see go bankrupt. Hydra made Aztech look cuddlesome.

The man on Widow’s left was Widow’s brother, a razor-boi street samurai with delta-ware biomodifications and a silver cyberware arm; the Winter Soldier. Winter turned stormcloud blue eyes on Tony, the overly-smooth movements and speed hinting at wired reflexes and other enhancements. He was as beautiful and deadly as a monofilament whip. He held himself with unnatural stillness, observing, the laughed, spoke with his sister in Russian. “ _I like this one_ ,” he said. “ _Look how pretty he is, solnyshka, little sun._ ”

“ _After the run, Yasha_ ,” she said in return, “ _I give you leave to flirt with whoever you want. Nuyen first, fun later_.” 

Now, Tony decided, was probably not the best time to let them know he spoke Russian. (Well, factually, he didn’t, but he’d installed the skillsoft for multiple languages. As the head of Stark Industries, being able to understand most of the world’s languages was essential, even if he pretended to hire translators for the formalities.)

Beyond them, in the corner, was Hawkeye, an elf from Tir Tairngire, whose specialties were stealth and cover-fire. Hawkeye was a wetworks specialist, and Stark Industries noted in his file that he’d completed two very successful corporate assassinations for them, two years ago, and had been well-paid for both his skill and discretion. Even Aries Corp didn’t know who’d been hired to take out Obediah Stane. The man had been in the middle of a teleconf with three other corps, ready to reveal the prototype he’d stolen from SI when he’d sprouted a feathered shaft between his eyes. Hawkeye had managed the kill, _publically_ , and gotten away clean. 

Beyond Hawkeye was Bruce -- street-named Hulk. A towering, nine-foot, green-skinned troll, Bruce looked too big and too clumsy to maneuver around inside the Matrix as a decker, but the ports behind his ear and the keyboard tucked under his arm said differently. Tony’d worked with him several times before, both directly and otherwise. The bonus of Hulk having said no to direct employment by SI is that he’d done a few runs with the Captain, and therefore could vouch for Tony (Iron Man) as a reliable hire. Cap, the Russians, and Hawkeye were a long established team and they seldom needed to work with others, but their own rigger/getaway driver, Thor, was out following a spectacular helicopter crash. Thus, why they also needed the run desperately; SI was paying top nuyen, and the team needed to rebuild their ride.

Pepper came in, finally, looking every inch the Mr. Johnson, with Happy and Wanda flanking her as professional bookends. “Well, now that we are all arrived,” she said, with an especial glare at Tony that clearly won her points with the Captain, “let’s see how we can be of mutual use to the other.”

***

_Renraku Arcology, Seattle Freestate_

The mission had turned into a heatwave at the last second. They’d gotten in clean, all the way into R&D where they’d found both Rhodey and the suitcase with astonishing ease. Hulk opened the doors for them, shut down video surveillance. They’d intercepted one security team, and the Russians had easily eliminated them, between Widow’s stinging mana bites and the Winter Soldier’s monofilament sword, they’d managed the whole thing with a minimum of noise, too. Between making salsa of the security team, Winter had continued to describe to his sister, in vividly erotic Russian, all the things he wanted to do to Tony, as soon as the run was over. Tony had managed to disguise one body-cramping bout of searing lust brought on by the man’s descriptions as a check for low-level hidden cameras. Talk about awkward erections, Tony grumbled to himself, triggering his biofeedback mods to keep from blushing.

Then the L.O.W.key ICe system had dumped Hulk out and given him a fragging bad case of dumpshock, sounding the alarms. Black Widow had cast a spell on the downed decker to lighten the load, which meant the Captain could carry him, but then they’d gotten separated; Tony, Winter, and an unconscious Rhodey, along with the paydata to one side, and the Captain, Hawkeye, and Black Widow, with the injured Hulk to the other. 

“I’ll get him out,” Tony promised over coms, just before L.O.W.key found their backdoor hub and shut the coms out, “meet back at Grac…” The coms went dead.

“Slot and run, rigger,” Winter said in a low growl behind him. He shifted Rhodey on his shoulder with one hand, firing his Vindicator minigun with the cyber arm. Most breeders wouldn’t have even been able to handle the Vindicator with both hands without a securing harness, the recoil from that thing was intense. Tony engaged his sound dampners again as Winter pulled the trigger, filling the corridor with thunder. 

Tony used his smaller guns, the Ares Predator, to clear a path toward the outer wall; R&D was almost half a mile inside the arcology, but they’d been driven out. He reloaded, sighed, an unloaded into yet another team of Renraku corpsec. At this rate, they were going to be out of bullets before they were out of enemy combatants.

Corpsec backed them into a dead end, a small T juncture. According to Tony’s internal map, they were less than twenty feet from open air, on the ninetieth floor, admittedly, but hey… Winter eased Rhodey to the floor and took up a covered position. He bared his teeth at Tony, beautiful eyes wide with panic. “Now would be a good time for a fragging backup plan,” Winter said. “Or we’re gonna have our last stand right here, chummer. _And I will never get to taste that beautiful mouth of yours._ ” 

“Give me three minutes,” Tony said. He thumbed the biometric lock on the securecase and it whined as it opened.

“We don’t have three minutes, Iron Man,” Winter snapped. Winter held corpsec off through gunfire and swear words and Rhodey was finally stirring at Tony’s feet.

“Do you trust me?” Tony said, pulling out the red and gold gauntlet from the case and letting it crawl over his forearm, the system shooting hotlinks into his rigger control. The head’s up display clicked in place in his cybereyes, giving him the building schematics. He was right, they were up against the wall.

“Do I have a choice?” Winter replied.

“Probably not,” Tony said, “but it’ll be easier if you don’t struggle.”

“ _So ka_ ,” Winter said, street Japanese for I understand. 

“You speak Japanese, too,” Tony said, rolling his eyes.

“ _I have a very talented tongue_ ,” Winter said, switching back to Russian.

Tony put his back to the wall, aiming the repulsor at the outside wall. “ _So I’ve noticed_ ,” Tony said, in Russian. “ _Now kiss me, and let’s get out of here_.”

To give the Winter Soldier some credit, he barely blinked as Tony switched into his dialect. “ _I have been wanting to, all night_ ,” he said. And before Tony could make another remark, Winter had his mouth on Tony’s, licking, biting, tasting, drawing out his tongue and swallowing him whole. Tony had had kisses before, but nothing like this sweet, drugging sensation that left him shivering.

“Right,” Tony said, panting for breath. “Right. Good data set. We’ll have to explore further along those lines later.”

He aimed the gauntlet and opened fire at the outside wall, blasting a hole large enough for two men to run through. 

“Nice weapon,” Winter said, tossing his last grenade down the corridor. 

“Thanks,” Tony said. “Grab Rhodey and jump.”

“We’re a hundred storeys up!”

“You said you trusted me,” Tony reminded him. “I got this. Just go.”

“You’re out of your fragging mind,” Winter said, nonetheless, he was pulling Rhodey over his shoulder.

“Yep,” Tony affirmed. “But even if you splatter, it’s better than being taken prisoner by Renraku. Jump, go, go, go!”

Winter Soldier tightened his hold on Rhodey, took three running steps and vanished out the gaping hole in the side of the building. He didn’t scream. Tony was a step behind him. “JARVIS systems online,” he said, grabbing the case and leaping out into the black. Around him, the prototype Iron Man combat armor assembled around him and repulsors whined as he took control of the fall.

Descending sharply, he snagged the Winter Soldier, wobbling for a bit as the extra weight joggled his flight trajectory. Fortunately, Winter kept a tight grip on Rhodey with his cyber arm. 

“You crazy bastard,” Winter shouted, staring up at the red and gold armor, wonder and terror warring for supremacy in his stormcloud eyes. “You couldn’t start flying _before_ we jumped off a building?”

“Didn’t want internal cameras to get a close up,” Tony said, his voice modulated by the suit’s speaker system. “This is a prototype. And that’s my pilot you’re carrying, so don’t drop him.”

Tony couldn’t go supersonic with unarmored companions -- no one needed ruptured eyeballs -- so he was forced into some pretty wild in-flight maneuvers to dodge the two combat VTOLS they sent after him, along with two score of gundrones. Shooting gallery time; Tony flipped, reversed, fired on the turrets, dropping the drones from the sky with ease. 

“On your left,” Winter screamed as the second VTOL dropped in to play.

Instead of firing at it, Tony banked hard, came in along the other side and threw; tossing the Winter Soldier and his precious cargo into the VTOL’s open gunbay. Winter threw the two gunners out before the pilot even thought to react, and by then it was too late. Tony touched down inside and used the dataport in his palm to take over the VTOL, flying by wire. He turned, punched the pilot in the face with one armor clad and rocket-assisted fist. The man didn’t move again. Tony flew without touching the stick, his rigging wires and brain faster and better than any manual pilot. Hell, he could have flown a simple craft like this in his sleep. 

“Welcome to the unfriendly skies,” Tony said as Winter shot the co-pilot and sat down in the vacated, bloody chair. He kicked his boots up onto the control panel and leaned back with casual arrogance.

“You’re not a ‘runner,” Winter said. “You’re a suit.”

“I beg your pardon,” Tony said, heart sinking but keeping it out of his voice. “Did you miss the highly successful run we just pulled?”

“It will be more successful if my sister and the rest of my crew made it out,” Winter said. “But you are no mere rigger. You’re Tony Stark.”

“You’re not supposed to know that, Vatjob,” Tony said, sighing.

“You gonna clean me for figuring it out?” Winter said. The man didn’t go for his weapons, didn’t do anything but sat there and looked at Tony while Tony argued with himself. Really, for the good of his company, he should shoot the Winter Soldier. There was no one to tell the story differently; Winter Soldier could have been mowed down by corpsec, or fallen out of the VTOL, for that matter.

“I should,” Tony said. “Rumor can’t get around that the owner/op of Stark Industries got personally involved in a counter-recruiting mission. Quasi-legal applies only to SINless. I could be arrested and extradited under corp-law.”

“ _So ka_ ,” Winter said. “You do what you gotta do, _Shaikujin_.”

Tony bit his lip. Pepper was going to _kill_ him, risking everything for a hot razor-boi and a kiss that probably didn’t mean anything. “I’m not an _honest citizen_ ,” he corrected. “I’m a shadowrunner.”

And with that, he kissed Winter again and the man leaned into it with gusto, taking everything Tony had to offer and demanding more. The kiss went beyond tongue and teeth and lips, made promises that Tony wanted to keep, and sang along his nerves like the mechanical engine roar of a Eurocar Westwind sportscar on the straight roads without Lone Star in sight. He disengaged the armor with a thought and it folded down around him, returning to its suitcase form, letting him press his body closer to the Winter Soldier, feeling the heat of the man through his clothes.

“ _Don’t you need a hand on the stick, to fly this thing?_ ” Winter asked when they separated. 

“ _Might need a hand on your stick_ ,” Tony snarked back. He slid a hand down Winter’s chest and fetched up near his belt when Rhodey groaned from the back of the VTOL.

“Tones,” Rhodey said, “so help me, if you got me drunk and we’re on another one of your mile-high orgies, I am going to beat you stupid.”


	2. We are But Dust and Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony Stark forms a blood bond with Peter Parker to save his life. But when Peter gets in trouble in Bug City, it's up to the Shadowrun Team do to a deep extract.

_Stark Industries Arcology, Seattle Freestate (two years previous)_  

“We’re losing him,” Tony said, staring across the lab. The whole place was on lockdown, no one in or out. Peter Parker, one of Tony’s best scientists, and, more importantly, his protege and friend, was on his knees in the middle of the lab, screaming. 

“He is fighting it,” Wanda said. She was a wage mage, one of the best in Stark Industries, but her hermetic magic was science and manipulations of magical energy, entirely self-contained, if not entirely self-controlled. “The totem picks the shaman. But if he does not want it, if he cannot surrender to the spirits surrounding him, he will die. Once the spirit has chosen, there is no going back.” The Quicksilver light at her shoulder made a high pitched noise and zipped around the room. She soothed it with a touch. 

“Why would he do that?” Tony demanded. 

“Why do people do anything?” Wanda asked. “Perhaps the idea of a totem offends his nature, as a man of science. Or perhaps the totem is evil, asks of him things he does not wish to do. The totem has its own agenda to fill; the gift of power is not free. Nor, even, is my own, although I do not answer to a spirit. My magic steals from me my physical essence. If used without responsibility, I could die from it. With great power… comes great responsibility.” 

Tony snorted. “That’s not unique to magic, Wanda.” 

“Nor should it be,” she said. “We are all the sum of our actions, are we not, Tony Stark?” 

“Seriously, do you read fortune cookies in your spare time or something? Is there anything we can do to help him?” 

Wanda closed her eyes for a moment, her body slumping against Tony’s and he held her up while she scanned into the astral plane. That was something Tony wished he could see, sometime. He’d seen the wonders of the Matrix, in all its cloaks and disguises, run from BlackIce and jacked knowledge while surrounded by a world of data and illusions, but the deeper pull of the astral plane was lost forever to cyber eyes and synthetic nerves. When he was of a mind to do it, Tony collected artwork from magicians who painted what they saw there, beyond the view of mere mortals. 

“It is there, in the room with him,” she said, not opening her eyes. In fact, she didn’t move her mouth -- her voice was coming directly through the Quicksilver familiar. “I see its form and I understand his fear. We can help him, but it will cost you.” 

“Anything,” Tony promised. “He’s my friend.” 

Wanda pulled an athame from under her jacket and presented it to him. “Cut yourself and bleed. I will take your essence, and mine, and we will give him our combined strength. If he dies, we die with him. Is that a price you are willing to pay, Anthony Stark?” 

Peter was a genius. He was a brilliant scientist. And he was Tony’s friend. He took up the knife. “I am.” 

* * *

 

  _Gracie’s For Ribs, Seattle Freestate (present day)_  

“Tell me why I come here with you again, Winter?” Tony said, leaning against the rickety plast-steel chair. 

“Real meat,” the Winter Soldier said, shoving an unidentifiable chunk of _something_ into his mouth, covered with a hot sauce so caustic that it could also be used to clean drains. “Not that vat-grown shit, or reconstituted soy-paste. Actual meat, torn right off an animal.” 

Tony shuddered, delicately. There were lots of things he adored about his razor-boi bedfriend, but his eating habits were not one of them. “Yes, but the question is, what sort of animal?” 

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to,” Cap said. He shoved a cup across the table at Tony. “Gracie gave me this, to give to you.” 

Tony picked the mug up gingerly and sniffed. Oh, mother of all science and magic. _Coffee._ Real coffee. From the fragging bean. How in the name of mana had she gotten her hands on that? “Remind me to send Gracie a marriage proposal on the spot. This… this is heaven, right here, in a cup.” 

“ _You are not going to marry Gracie_ ,” Winter said, growling low in Russian. 

Well, no, probably he was not. Gracie was an eight foot troll. And besides that, she was already married. But still. _Coffee_. 

“You said no, the last three times I’ve asked you,” Tony pointed out. 

“My sister does not approve,” Winter said, picking up a bone of some sort and cracking it, sucking the marrow out of it. _Eurgh._ Not that Tony didn’t understand. His razor-boi had a highly cranked metabolism; part of the side effects of being as heavily modified as he was. Accelerated healing, pain dampeners, increased speed and strength, a move-by-wire system (all of which came with a raging case of cyber psychosis which manifested itself in intense jealousy, possessiveness, and protectiveness for those things Winter decided belonged to him. Which, at the moment, included Tony.) all took its toll and demanded a very high intake of calories, especially protein. The more pure form the protein, the faster Winter could metabolize it. 

“Your sister loves me,” Tony protested. That was sort of true; at least the Black Widow had never tried to kill him, which was a lot better record than most of her non-friends had. She hadn’t even been mad at him the night they got separated in the Renraku arcology. Of course, Tony had used a stolen VTOL to provide air-cover while they bolted through the front gate. Saving her ass (along with her lover’s, the elf, Hawkeye) had earned him a lot of her good grace. Wanting to marry her brother… 

“ _Part of the problem_ ,” Winter noted. 

“Well, you should probably marry me now, if you’re going to,” Tony pointed out. “Right now, that’d make you the sole heir to Stark Industries, and I’m afraid I don’t have much time left.” 

Winter slammed his hand down on the table, rattling the plates and dishes. “What are you talking about?” 

“That’s what I called you all here to talk about,” Tony said. “I did something for a friend of mine a few years back that… I have a blood pact.” Slowly -- these were his friends, but he hadn’t wanted to tell them. Even Winter didn’t know. The last few months he’d managed to keep his tank top on when they were having sex to hide what was happening to him -- he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal the venom patterns spreading out from his heart. Black lines raced across his skin, down his chest and up his throat. Two days ago, one of them had touched his arm, started its deathly trail down toward his hands. 

“ _I told you that you didn’t want to marry him_ ,” the Black Widow said, appearing out of nowhere as she always did as soon as the conversation got interesting. “You didn’t listen. And now you love him and he is going to die.” 

“You wouldn’t have told us,” Hawkeye said, dropping down from his perch in the rafters to land lightly on the table. He didn’t even disturb the bowls and cups as he skipped over to the floor. “If you didn’t have a solution.” 

“I have a run. As a personal favor. Obviously, I can pay you whatever you want, for form’s sake, but I’d like you to consider it. Meaningful. If we’re friends. No hard feelings, if we’re not, or if it’s too much. But what I’m asking you to do goes beyond nuyen.” 

“Nothing goes beyond nuyen,” Hulk said, his green eyes focusing on matters in the real world for a moment, instead of the glitter and dance of the Matrix. “Just some things require more nuyen than others.” 

“Tell me what you need and I will give it to you,” the Winter Soldier said. “ _Everything I have, every drop of my blood for you._ ” 

“Two years ago, I made a blood pact with Peter Parker.” 

“The Spider Man,” Black Widow said. “A powerful shaman of Spider. Dedicated bug-hunter. I know him.” 

“He’s been captured. He’s in Bug City,” Tony said. “I’ve sent two other teams to attempt to extract, but no one can get close to him. We lost both teams.” 

“You’re asking us to risk our lives to save yours?” Captain America asked. “To go into Bug City for a rescue op? You do know what happens to people that the invae capture, right?” 

“They become part of the Hive. They’re infected with a spiritual larvae that feeds on the psyche and the host becomes a weird hybrid monster; shock troops for the Queen. Mandibles, vestigial wings, exoskeleton. I’ve seen the pictures. Sometimes, those shock troops enter a cocoon stage, where they become a True-form insect. Very few people have seen those, and the ones that have are never quite the same again. That’s what’s happening to Peter. 

“When the process is complete, he’ll die and be reborn on the Astral Plane as a powerful spirit, as powerful and vengeful and hungry as he is now; but without the restrictions of being human. He’ll become a plague. He’s a scientist, one of the best ones in the world, with access in his mind for weapons that Stark Industries decided were too horrific to put into play. He won’t have that restraint, as a spirit. He’ll bring down wrath upon us all the likes of which we’ve not dealt with before and in a matter of years, the world will be overrun.” 

“You’re not asking us to go with you to save him, or you, at all,” Black Widow said, staring at him. “You’re asking us to go in there and kill him. And you.” 

“It’s not ideal,” Tony admitted. “And there may be a way to break the blood bond, but Wanda won’t know that until we get inside, until we see him. Obviously, if we can rescue him, that’s the best solution; we can hibernate the cocoon, figure out a way to reverse the process. But if not, then yes. Kill him. Wanda and I will die. But we’ll save the world. And that’s what Stark Industries has always, always been about. I can’t do less, now.”

 

* * *

 

 _Stark Industries Arcology, Seattle Freestate_  

“ _This is intolerable_ ,” Winter said. They were laying in Tony’s bed, having made desperate and frantic love, not once, but three times, as Tony gave Winter everything he had to give and more. The team had had, in the end, agreed to the run. Tony knew they would, each for their own reasons. For Winter, it was for love. For Widow, the same, only that she loved her brother. For Cap, it was about freedom; the invae offered no recourse, they were brutal enslavers, motivated only to turn the world into either Hive, or food. There was no recourse with the invae, they did not bargain, they showed no mercy. Kill, or die. That was all they knew. 

For Hawkeye, it was vengeance. The invae had taken countless elves into their Hives. Hawkeye had lost his entire family to them before they were contained to Bug City by the wastelands around them. But if Peter became one of them? He knew how to build, he could teach the insects how to create transports that would shield them across the nuclear wastes, would let them invade Seattle, Tir Tairngire, UCAS, Denver, the Sioux Nation. Everything would fall, in a matter of months. 

And for Hulk, well, Hulk was in it for his friends. He’d go wherever they went, from the Sprawl to Penumbra and even, it appeared, all the way to Bug City. 

“I’m sorry,” Tony said, because he didn’t know what else to say. 

“I just found you,” Winter said. “Do you know what it’s like, Tony, to strip away all your essence? I’m less than I was, before. Hydra took _everything_ from me, to make me into a weapon. I’m more machine now, than man. I’m on a hair trigger, all the time. If I’m not careful, I could kill someone if they drop their cup behind me. My gun will be in my hand before my brain can stop it. To live with that sort of fear, on high alert, all the time?” 

“I know, baby, I do.” Tony had a small bout of cyber insanity, after his rigging wires were installed. Weeks before he could leave his bed; every time he got near anything that he could control, cars, ships, planes, the Iron Man Suit, bots, even people who had cyber enhancements, and his connects were out, trying to bind them, force them into his bidding. It had been horrific and Tony still woke up in cold sweats, sometimes, remembering the doctors who’d installed the wires in his body. And they had done it to him because he wanted it. What must the Winter Soldier feel, having had it done to him without his consent? And his enhancements were so much more invasive, thorough, than Tony’s own. 

“Captain America is my best friend,” Winter continued. “He and Hawkeye got me and my sister out of there, enabled us to exact revenge. For a long time, destroying Hydra was all I cared about, was all I _could_ care about. After Hydra was gone, it was Cap. I had to protect Cap. He was my mission. But he doesn’t need me. I was losing it, before you came along. I was getting colder every day. Widow knew it. I was going to snap. She’s already promised to put a mana bolt in me, if I did. Right in the brainpan. Squish.” 

Tony flinched, touching his lover’s face with a gentle hand. “I’m glad it didn’t come to that, babe. I love you.” 

“You’re my mission now, Tony,” Winter said. “I can’t lose you. You gotta think of a better way.” 

“If we can get to the Queen, maybe we can stop the whole thing,” Tony said. “No one knows, because no one’s ever done it before.” 

“Anything it takes,” Winter swore. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” Tony said. 

“Tony?” 

“Yeah?” 

“If that marriage offer’s still open,” Winter said, quiet and careful, “I’d… be honored. And… um. My name is James.” 

* * *

Active: trauma dampeners, 92%, backup engaged. Redline 10% mark, check  
Active: move-by-wire. 51:12:49  
Active: Navigational systems 41.87 / -87.62 N41 52’41 E-87 37.37  
Inactive: skillsoft, pilot; skillsoft, mechanic; skillsoft, first aid  
Active: enhanced muscle augments, kcs storage, 75%  
Active: Hyperthyroid, Adrenal pump  
Active: olfactory booster, attention coprocessor, flare comp, low light, select sound filter  
Inactive: cranial bomb 

Active: Smartgun link:  
     Disallowed targets designated, Tony Stark, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk, Wanda Maximoff, Thor, Peter Parker (quicktrigger) All others, maximum prejudice

Primary Mission: Protect Anthony Stark  
Chance Mission Success: .40  
Chance Personal Survival: .49

Secondary Mission: Recover Peter Parker  
Chance Mission Success: .30  
Chance Personal Survival: .29 

Complications: primary mission dependent on secondary mission success, high indigenous invae population, lack of primary cooperation on secondary failure 

Bucky shook away his retinal display. He already knew they were fucked, and that royally. He didn’t need to look at the list of reasons his advanced tactical brain could come up with. Took a minute, to see the real world beyond the ghost images of combat, tactics, kill shots, vectors and warnings. He rubbed his thumb against the wedding ring Tony had put on his finger not three hours ago. A quick thing, the wedding. His sister, Steve, and Tony’s business partner, Pepper Potts serving as witnesses. Two thumbprints, two “I wills” and a kiss later and the deed was done. 

Potts had made all the arrangements, and Bucky’d had to thumbprint that, too. Full on SINer, now. Bucky hadn’t had a SIN, a real name, a legal persona since Hydra snatched him and his sister off the streets at the tender age of twelve. James Barnes-Stark. If Tony died -- Bucky would be heir to the megacorp. If _Bucky_ didn’t make it back from this mission, Stark Industries would pass to Pepper Potts, his designated heir. 

Thor was going to pass over the city on a stealthed craft; night drop. Tony, in the Iron Man suit, would carry Bucky and Nat down to the ruins of Chicago. The Scarlet Witch -- Tony’s wagemage, Wanda -- had already cast slow gravity charms on Bruce and Clint, and Steve’s own physical adept abilities let him freefall without damage. Once on the ground, Steve would take charge -- there was a certain something in his voice that would bring fear to the enemy, encourage his allies. Bucky knew he was always stronger, faster, even than his enhancements allowed, whenever Steve’s voice was in his ear. 

“You an’ me, pal,” Steve said, coming up behind him and stepping a little heavy. Everyone had learned at this point not to startle Bucky. His move-by would react faster than he could put a halt to it, and while his guns were disabled from shooting at people he liked (yay, smart gun links!) that didn’t mean he wasn’t liable to fucking cold cock you before you knew what you’d done was A+ stupid. 

“Til the end of the line,” Bucky responded. 

“It’ll be okay,” Steve said, and even though Bucky knew he was lying, Steve said it in the Captain America voice and it was goddamn impossible to disbelieve. Fraggin’ physical adept punk. “We can do this. We’ve seen worse.” 

“No, we haven’t,” Bucky said, and that was also true. Hydra had been terrible, but Hydra had at least been _human_. “And if you give me the _Tale of Two Cities_ speech again, I will end you now and we won’t have to deal with your bullshit attempts at melodrama while fighting hordes of invae.” 

“Jerk,” Steve said, bumping Bucky’s shoulder. 

“Punk.” 

“We approach the drop location,” Thor said, into their comms. His stealth airship, Valhalla, was a one of a kind, beautiful machine. He could get them to the drop, but getting out they were going to have to get to a high point and signal. The VTOL didn’t have enough fuel to hover around. He would go out to Denver, refuel, and await the signal. In Denver, he was going to meet up with his brother, the mage Loki, who would provide some cover fire for them on their escape. Assuming they _could_ escape. 

CMS: .30  
CPS: .29 

 _Shut up._  

* * *

  

**Mission Report: combat status**

Captain America, wounded, stab in abdominal area. Efficiency down 32%  
Black Widow, suffering from drain and spell shock. Efficiency down 61%  
Scarlet Witch, blood mage, deflected drain to enemy targets, efficiency 100% _Mission warning: Keep arms and legs away from that bitch._  
Iron Man, exoskeleton damaged, efficiency down 12%, pilot intact, ammo 48%  
Hulk, Smash.  
Hawkeye, efficiency 80%, ammo 61% and rising 

CMS: .51  
CPS: .48

Better.

“Here,” Tony said, struggling to hold onto a still living drone, its whipping stinger trying vainly to penetrate the Iron Man armor. “Got you a live one.” 

“Bring it here,” Wanda said. She drew her ritual dagger from under her vest and chanted over it. As soon as the drone was in range, she stabbed it. The blood and ichor that dripped down from the wound -- the insectoid human, barely recognizable as an orc under layers of chitin and slime, uttered a chittering cry that raked along Bucky’s enhanced eardrums -- Wanda dabbled her fingers in it, smearing the blood up her arm and along her face. It sank into her, feeding her magic, keeping her spells from draining her. 

Aztech blood magic. Freaky and terrifying. The Aztech blood mages had sacrificed millions to their gods of magic, had power beyond that of most, and unlike the shamans or the hermetics, were almost unstoppable. How Tony had ended up with one enthralled into his service, Bucky didn’t want to ask. Wanda spun the life force of the invae into something pure and blue-silver fire. She laid blood-stained hands on Steve’s wounds, then, with a yank, pulled them out, the skin knitting closed behind the trails of fire. 

Steve stared down at his unmarked skin, opened his mouth, then turned, suddenly, and vomited. 

“It is hard to accept, sometimes,” Wanda said, sadly, “that another might lay down his life that you should live.” The invae in Tony’s grasp slumped and stopped moving. “The soul inside, Captain, is grateful for the release from his suffering. That he could do something good in those last moments.” 

“Is that true?” Steve wiped his mouth. 

“It is. When I changed my allegiance from the Temple Gods to Tony Stark, I made promises. I would never steal blood without permission of the soul within. It is a gift, the last one this poor creature could make. He welcomed death. It is preferable to this pitiless existence.” 

“She really did,” Tony said, tipping back the face mask of his suit. “All blood magic is tied up in their vows. If she breaks her word to me, her magic won’t work anymore. It’s a little more master-slave than I’m comfortable with, but it was the only thing we could do to save her, or her brother.” 

“I thought she was a wage-mage,” Bruce said. 

“Well, I do pay her,” Tony protested. “I’m hardly a cretin.” 

“Where’s your brother?” Nat asked. 

“He is here,” she said, reaching out her hand and caressing the Quicksilver familiar. “He is always with me, a free spirit now, instead of enclosed in the heart of the High Priestess’s athame. It is better for us both, here. Tony Stark has shown us a better way.” 

Tony scoffed, waving his hand. “Don’t listen to her,” he said. “She’s _fantastic_. So much I could not have accomplished without her help. Bargain, for me. One of the best deals I’ve ever cut.” 

Bucky lifted his head, listening. “We’ve got more incoming and we’re only halfway down the Hive. I hope someone’s got a better plan than ‘shoot our way out of this’, chummers.” 

“If the way were clear, how long will it take to reach the Queen?” Wanda asked. 

Bucky calculated. “Moving at a fast walk? Fourteen minutes, eight seconds. Assuming we don’t have to stop and fight.” 

Wanda nodded. “I can do that. Stay close and do not talk.” She folded her hands together, spoke words in a language that Bucky was just as glad he didn’t understand and a fog dropped over them. 

It was not like real fog, cold, damp and white, but shimmery and clear and full of whispers. Bucky put his hand on his husband’s arm, that he would not lose Tony in the wall of magic surrounding them. Inside the magical cloud, they were muffled, barely visible, shadows and dust moving in the Hive. They passed, unnoticed, by the invae, unseen. Bucky led the way, his mental map updating as they passed tunnels and patrols, headed toward the big, empty space at the bottom of the Hive. 

Not quite fifteen minutes passed and Wanda was shaking and sweating by the time they reached the Queen’s chamber. Larva pods hung from the ceilings in gooey, glowing sacks, their human/insect inhabitants struggling and swaying. Food pods, wrapped up in gelatin-wax, sealed in honey, dotted the walls. Those poor bastards were dead, their bodies providing proteins and minerals for the drones. 

CMS: .57  
CPS: .54  
Chance Psychotic Break: .73 

 _Fuck you, Mission._  

The Queen… _oh frag me sideways_ … was enormous. A giant white and black striped monstrosity, heavily armored with vestigial wing and a bloated abdomen, she had enormous, multifaceted eyes that reflected her chambers. Lethal mandibles, dripping venom, flexed around the black opening of her mouth. 

“Parker,” Tony said, softly. Below the Queen’s forelegs was a waxy cocoon, fat and off-white. 

“How can you tell?” Cap whispered. 

Tony put one hand, clad in red and gold armor, over his chest. “I can feel it.” 

“The blood bond,” Wanda said. “I feel it as well. It draws us to him, binds our fates together, weaves our souls. It is because of the bond that Peter Parker has not yet succumbed to the insect spirit that seeks to possess him. He draws on our strength, our love for him. It has preserved his sanity, despite all that the Queen has tried to do to him.” 

“So, we can save him?” Bucky said. Not that he cared about Parker, a man he’d never met. But Parker held a sacred bond with Bucky’s husband, and that Bucky cared about, very much. If they could save Parker than Tony wouldn’t have to die. 

“Yes,” Wanda said. “Kill the Queen and the spirit has no draw to this plane. It will be trapped in the astral plane, unable to reach Parker.” 

CMS: .81  
CPS: .72 

“But,” Nat said, her eyes fading for just a moment, “to kill the Queen, we need to take the battle to her spirit, on the other side. That’ll be you and me, Blood doll. And someone needs to guard our meat bodies.” 

Clint took up position against the wall, putting himself between the Queen and Natasha. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, baby.” 

Bruce nodded. “Stay behind me, Miss Wanda, I’ll protect you.” 

“That leaves me, Iron Man, and Winter Soldier,” Steve said, pulling up the shimmering shield of kinetic energy, “to attack Mama Bug.” 

“I’m officially complaining,” Bucky said, “this sucks as a honeymoon.” 

“Think of it as the ‘for worse’ part of the deal,” Tony suggested. “We’re getting it out of the way early.” 

“If we die, I’m divorcing you,” Bucky threatened, checking his ammo and loosening his monofilament sword in its scabbard. 

“No, you’re not,” Tony said, leaning in for a kiss. Bucky yanked him in, crushing his mouth over Tony’s, trying to draw everything good and light and worthy out of the moment, to breathe in the sweetness and love that was Tony and to push aside fear and doubt. In that moment, his lips over Tony’s, Tony’s clever, wicked tongue tasting his mouth, everything was glorious. If they died, it would be worth it. 

CMS: .83  
CPS: .81 

But honestly, Bucky would really much rather live. Thank you very much, Mission. 

* * *

 

Killing the Queen should have thrown the Hive into utter chaos. And it sort of did, except that more than half the drones were in the mood for revenge and the other half fled the Hive. All of them were in the fragging way. 

Tony cut Parker free of the cocoon, and had the man slung over his shoulder. “Go, go, go,” he yelled. “Slot and run, chummers!” 

Bucky was low on ammo. 

CMS: .21  
CPS: .18

They were all exhausted, drained, and Natasha was currently being carried, Princess-style, by Bruce, which meant big, green, and ugly couldn’t help out much in the combat, trying as he was to keep the mage from getting banged up while she couldn’t defend herself. Even Wanda was low on reserves, although her red, glittering mana bolts continually sang out, striking with unerring accuracy. Too much longer, though, and she was going to have to cut and bleed someone, if she was going to keep fighting. 

And the invae just kept coming. At least it would be death, and not capture. With no Queen to turn them, there was no point in prisoners. But it would be eventual death; humans were considered food sources. Bucky gagged on the idea of a slow death, over days, while his body was torn away to feed the hordes of ravening insectoids. He checked his ammo. He’d save one phosphorous grenade; he could end all their suffering in one brilliant explosion and take a good chunk of bugs with him when they went.

“Don’t get trigger-happy, honeybear,” Tony said, placing one gauntleted hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “I’ve got aerial recon picking up incoming aircraft. Thor is on his way back for us.” 

“How much further to the surface?” Captain America bellowed, striking an invae away from him with the kinetic shield. 

“Further than you’ll get without my help, mortals!” A familiar voice boomed down the tunnels. “Run, insects! Run from a god!” 

“Loki,” Clint groused. “Why the fragging frag is he fragging doing now?” 

“Saving your ass, Hawkeye,” Cap said. “Saving all of our asses.” 

Whatever Loki was doing was working, the invae screeched and fled as fast as they could from Loki’s magic, all green and gold and powerful and terrifying. 

CMS: .92  
CPS: .95 

Loki, beautiful, perfect, cold, and grinning like a maniac, waited for them at the end of the tunnel. “Bow before me, dull creatures,” he said. “For I am a god.” 

Bruce lumbered by, still carrying Natasha in his arms. “Puny god.” 

Tony choked on a laugh. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Remind me to buy you a drink, later.” 

They hurried out of the tunnels and boarded Valhalla, with Thor’s cheerful greetings ringing in their ears. Loki was last aboard, looking down at the Hive with clear, green eyes. “A more wretched Hive…” 

“Do stop quoting that movie, Brother,” Thor said, rolling his eyes. “If you would take all safety precautions, I have a parting gift for our friends below.” 

Lokie grabbed hold of one of the straps and kicked a thermobaric device out the hatch. Thor closed the hatch with all due haste and put the aircraft on the ceiling while the bomb exploded and deployed a supersonic blast over the hive. 

“Was that a Hammer-tech bomb?” Tony asked, offended. 

“You want me to use a Jericho missile, you have to give me one,” Thor pointed out. “This weapon was available through one of my contacts in Denver.” 

“Tony Stark,” Wanda called. “Parker awakens.” 

Tony folded the armor away, rushing to his friend’s side. Bucky turned away, unable to watch as Tony took Peter’s hand. It was good, he told himself, good that Parker lived, good that Tony was safe. But that didn’t mean it did not cause him pain to watch Tony hovering over the man. 

CMS: .92  
CPS: .96 

 _Thanks, Mission. We’re good. Stand down._  

* * *

 

“All right,” Tony said, clapping his hands together. “Food. Everyone who’s not dead, Gravity Bar, my treat. Everyone who is dead, unload into medical and let’s fix that.” 

“Ug,” Bucky muttered. “Soy jelly with sauce on fancy plates. How delightful.” 

“They have an excellent raw bar, as well, my dear, Russian grump,” Tony said, putting his arms around Bucky’s shoulders. “And you know what they say about raw oysters.” 

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “ _Well, in that case, are you sure you don’t want sleep, first? It is our wedding night, after all._ ” 

“Don’t worry,” Tony said, “I can keep up with you, even if I don’t have enhanced stamina.” 

“ _We’ll see about that, husband._ ” Bucky drew him in and kissed Tony’s neck, right at the base of his jaw. “Gonna wear you out.”

Tony shivered. “Looking forward to it.”


End file.
